The Footroom service will go some way towards limiting constraint payments to wind farm operators. Currently, National Grid pays millions of pounds a year to stop them exporting to the grid and overloading it.

“Footroom, or demand turn-up, offers tremendous potential to the UK – not only does it put the country at the very forefront of developing and implementing the Grid of tomorrow, but it opens up a world of possibilities for business and for renewables developers,” he said.

“Currently, when the wind is at its strongest, the Grid turns large power stations down or off. But it can’t turn down all of them, so sometimes it has to turn off some of the wind farms. This wastes a free resource.

“With Footroom, businesses can boost productivity for minimal extra cost and are incentivised to do so. In turn, the Grid can increase the amount of electricity distributed to homes from clean, renewable energy sources.”

The service works by sending a signal to connected businesses, notifying them of an approaching increase in wind and the opportunity to increase demand. Those who do respond receive a payment in addition to the extra electricity.

“This will have a huge impact across the whole of the UK – and could give businesses connected to the system a competitive edge over European competitors,” said Martin. “Being an early adopter of Footroom will pay dividends not just now, but for years to come.”